I managed to ride the Good As Gold Poker Run put on by the Hells Angels last weekend, and what a sight it was....over 600 bikes snaking along the road for what would have been at least 2 to 3kms, if not more.
We arrived at their Browns Plains clubhouse about half an hour before take off time - there were a lot of cops sitting at the bottom of the street that leads there, taking pictures and video of all riders who passed them, and I immediately thought that the day was gonna be slow and drawn out, assuming we would be pulled over at some stage for one reason or another. Once at the club we picked up our first couple of cards and then wandered around checking the bikes out. As can be expected on a run like this, there was a lot of top notch machinery on display, but one bike that did catch my eye was a ratted Rocket - I thought that this bike looked the ducks nuts! Whilst wandering around we bumped into a few other mates that we knew were doing the run, and it was good to share a few stories with them.
The call went out and everyone headed to their bikes. What a sound it was - not having ridden with a lot of vee twins for quite a while, I had all but forgotten how fricken loud these things are!! Nothing comes close to the sound of that many bikes thumping down the road, coming at you from all directions. We passed the spot where all those cops had been, but they had all but disappeared. Our first stop was to be the Sundowner Hotel on the Warrego Hwy at Haigslea, heading out to Toowoomba. We weaved our way through back streets/roads towards our destination - one thing that was a surprise for me was the number of cops holding up traffic for us as we passed through intersections and roundabouts. They had obviously been told of the run and were doing their best to keep the bikes together, which was a surprise to many.
This first leg was pretty uneventful - except for a number of 'weekend wannabes' in the pack who you always need to be on the watch for on any poker run. Dodge was telling me later that he was almost cleaned up by some guy who was going way too fast for a corner and managed to come close to hitting a concrete barrier after cutting in between him and the guy in front of him whilst grabbing a fist full of brakes! Lucky! Anyway, I slowly made my way through the pack from the rear to about half way along, steering well clear of these types where I could. Couldn't help but admire some of the nicer bikes as I passed them along the way - pity I couldn't get some action pics. After about 45 minutes we pulled into the Sundowner for a bit of relief from the heat.
After witnessing some poor bastard pull up and drop his Rocket onto it's side due to some soft grass - he did receive assistance with the pick up - I wandered into the pub and ordered a beer. Lots of bikes still pulling in and there was a lineup at the bar already - oh well, gotta expect that I spose! Dodge and I managed to catch up with Grizz, Eddie, Steve, Grasshopper, Donna and a few others from the Social Club for a drink and chat out on the balcony. No need to rush to pick up any cards whilst out on the road either - the remaining cards were to be dealt on our return to the club along with a house card.
From Haigslea we headed for Glamorgan Vale - only a very short distance, but the boys saw fit to take us on a bit of a tour of the farms out this way. Probably took around 40 minutes to arrive there, but it was great seeing so, so many bikes parked around the pub. Inside to line up for another beer and then out the back for a classic gourmet Aussie lunch of snags, onion, bread and a choice of your favorite sauces. Turns out that the bloke who I saw inside serving behind the bar and who had served me my beer had come outside and taken on cooking the barbie - he was flat out, the poor bastard, but doing an excellent job! A few coins into the veterans hat and a good feed was had. The Glamorgan Vale pub is a nice spot - have been there a number of times before but not recently. The place has a bit of character, a great outdoor area out the back beneath the trees, and a feeling of being out in the middle of nowhere.
After an hour or so it was back on the road - I waited and watched as all of the bikes took off, and it was worth it. We then followed the road from the pub back out to the Brisbane Valley Hwy, onto the Warrego Hwy and then the Ipswich Mwy - the dual lane roads made it easier to work my way through the pack and it was good fun, with very little traffic blocking our ride back to the club. I ended up amongst the lead group on arrival back at the clubhouse and headed in for another drink. We were dealt our final two cards and the house card was read out, but I had a shocking hand and there was no way that I was leaving with the 100 cubic inch Revtech v-twin - bugger!
Caught up with everyone once they arrived and we watched old blind Jack give it to his guitar on the stage - he was bloody good. Once he finished up, the prizes were handed out and Grizz picked up some cash on behalf of the Social Club for having the biggest club turn out on the day - this was then donated to charity. Good on ya guys! The next band, Chick Flick, started playing, but I didn't stay much longer, deciding to head home.
Was a great day and I enjoyed myself - the cops were good to us, there were no major dramas on the road and the riding was excellent. Well done to the Hells Angels for putting on another good show!
We arrived at their Browns Plains clubhouse about half an hour before take off time - there were a lot of cops sitting at the bottom of the street that leads there, taking pictures and video of all riders who passed them, and I immediately thought that the day was gonna be slow and drawn out, assuming we would be pulled over at some stage for one reason or another. Once at the club we picked up our first couple of cards and then wandered around checking the bikes out. As can be expected on a run like this, there was a lot of top notch machinery on display, but one bike that did catch my eye was a ratted Rocket - I thought that this bike looked the ducks nuts! Whilst wandering around we bumped into a few other mates that we knew were doing the run, and it was good to share a few stories with them.
The call went out and everyone headed to their bikes. What a sound it was - not having ridden with a lot of vee twins for quite a while, I had all but forgotten how fricken loud these things are!! Nothing comes close to the sound of that many bikes thumping down the road, coming at you from all directions. We passed the spot where all those cops had been, but they had all but disappeared. Our first stop was to be the Sundowner Hotel on the Warrego Hwy at Haigslea, heading out to Toowoomba. We weaved our way through back streets/roads towards our destination - one thing that was a surprise for me was the number of cops holding up traffic for us as we passed through intersections and roundabouts. They had obviously been told of the run and were doing their best to keep the bikes together, which was a surprise to many.
This first leg was pretty uneventful - except for a number of 'weekend wannabes' in the pack who you always need to be on the watch for on any poker run. Dodge was telling me later that he was almost cleaned up by some guy who was going way too fast for a corner and managed to come close to hitting a concrete barrier after cutting in between him and the guy in front of him whilst grabbing a fist full of brakes! Lucky! Anyway, I slowly made my way through the pack from the rear to about half way along, steering well clear of these types where I could. Couldn't help but admire some of the nicer bikes as I passed them along the way - pity I couldn't get some action pics. After about 45 minutes we pulled into the Sundowner for a bit of relief from the heat.
After witnessing some poor bastard pull up and drop his Rocket onto it's side due to some soft grass - he did receive assistance with the pick up - I wandered into the pub and ordered a beer. Lots of bikes still pulling in and there was a lineup at the bar already - oh well, gotta expect that I spose! Dodge and I managed to catch up with Grizz, Eddie, Steve, Grasshopper, Donna and a few others from the Social Club for a drink and chat out on the balcony. No need to rush to pick up any cards whilst out on the road either - the remaining cards were to be dealt on our return to the club along with a house card.
From Haigslea we headed for Glamorgan Vale - only a very short distance, but the boys saw fit to take us on a bit of a tour of the farms out this way. Probably took around 40 minutes to arrive there, but it was great seeing so, so many bikes parked around the pub. Inside to line up for another beer and then out the back for a classic gourmet Aussie lunch of snags, onion, bread and a choice of your favorite sauces. Turns out that the bloke who I saw inside serving behind the bar and who had served me my beer had come outside and taken on cooking the barbie - he was flat out, the poor bastard, but doing an excellent job! A few coins into the veterans hat and a good feed was had. The Glamorgan Vale pub is a nice spot - have been there a number of times before but not recently. The place has a bit of character, a great outdoor area out the back beneath the trees, and a feeling of being out in the middle of nowhere.
After an hour or so it was back on the road - I waited and watched as all of the bikes took off, and it was worth it. We then followed the road from the pub back out to the Brisbane Valley Hwy, onto the Warrego Hwy and then the Ipswich Mwy - the dual lane roads made it easier to work my way through the pack and it was good fun, with very little traffic blocking our ride back to the club. I ended up amongst the lead group on arrival back at the clubhouse and headed in for another drink. We were dealt our final two cards and the house card was read out, but I had a shocking hand and there was no way that I was leaving with the 100 cubic inch Revtech v-twin - bugger!
Caught up with everyone once they arrived and we watched old blind Jack give it to his guitar on the stage - he was bloody good. Once he finished up, the prizes were handed out and Grizz picked up some cash on behalf of the Social Club for having the biggest club turn out on the day - this was then donated to charity. Good on ya guys! The next band, Chick Flick, started playing, but I didn't stay much longer, deciding to head home.
Was a great day and I enjoyed myself - the cops were good to us, there were no major dramas on the road and the riding was excellent. Well done to the Hells Angels for putting on another good show!
posted by Beaker at 5:10 AM
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